Abstract: On the basis of equivalent linearization, this article deduced a numerical formula to compute the random response of adjacent buildings linked by energy dissipating devices under the disturbance of kanai-Taji-mi spectra, and investigated the application scope of this seismic resisting system. The results show that this system can be adopted when the frequencies of two sub-structures are obviously different and the earthquake records have a broad range of frequency contents, which has been proved by 128 instances of nonlinear time history analyses. It also investigated on the control effect of equivalent stiffness and equivalent damping of linker elements, and got the conclusion that it is better to choose dissipating devices with small equivalent stiffness and there is an optimal scope for equivalent damping.